Brake supports Typetalk service for constituents

The Typetalk telephone relay service brings the benefits of the telephone to local residents with communications difficulties, says local MP Tom Brake in supporting the service.

Typetalk is run by the RNID and funded by BT. RNID Typetalk is the only national telephone relay service which enables deaf, deafblind, deafened, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people to communicate with hearing people anywhere in the world.

Tom Brake said:

"Typetalk will make it easier for constituents who cannot use an ordinary telephone, even with amplification, to contact me. Estimates suggest that there are likely to be 750 local people who will benefit from this service. My staff and I are trained in deaf awareness and we are always happy to receive Typetalk calls."

Due to a lack of demand, the minicom telephone in Tom Brake's constituency office is no longer available. Typetalk will provide a very effective alternative.

How does RNID Typetalk work?

RNID Typetalk provides a link between the textphone user and the hearing person. The link is a highly trained RNID Typetalk Operator who understands the needs of deaf and speech-impaired people and provides a discreet and confidential service.

Textphone users dial direct using the 18001 prefix before the number of the person they would like to speak to and RNID Typetalk Operator joins the line to relay the conversation.

The textphone user will then type their part of the conversation. A RNID Typetalk Operator will read exactly what is typed to the hearing person. The hearing person replies and the RNID Typetalk Operator will type exactly what is said so the textphone user can read the response on their textphone display panel.

The user can also speak the conversation to hearing person and receive a text reply.

To call a textphone user, simply dial 18002, then the full telephone number of the person you wish to speak to. Once the textphone has been answered, an RNID Typetalk operator will join the line to relay your call.